Fall in dollar liquidity fails to halt naira’s rise
The naira extended its rise against the dollar this week despite a decline in liquidity in the official foreign exchange market, data released on Saturday by securities exchange FMDQ shows.
The average Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing rate was N1,623.54 per dollar, compared to N1,681.35/$ last week.
The total turnover in the FX spot and derivatives markets fell 24 percent to $1.77 billion compared to last week, driven solely by the decrease in spot transactions, which stood at $1.76 billion.
“The increase in FX derivatives turnover was driven by the $5 million increase in FX forwards turnover, whilst there was continued lack of activity in both the Exchange-Traded FX Futures and Cleared Naira-Settled Non-Deliverable Forwards markets,” FMDQ said.
